Vitamin B6 Banned

[carla]

When is a Vitamin Not a Vitamin? When the FDA Says So!

In September of 2005, Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) senior vice president of scientific and international affairs, John Hathcock, PhD, wrote a letter to the FDA stating that “Pyridoxamine is unequivocally a dietary ingredient because it is one of the three primary natural forms of vitamin B6, and it is one of the two predominant forms in animal products used as human foods.”

But now, thanks to a petition filed with the FDA by Biostratum, the North Carolina-based manufacturer of a pyridoxamine-based drug called Pyridorin, which is designed to prevent the progression of diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease), on January 12 the FDA announced that pyridoxamine dihydrochloride was a “new drug.” This means that the FDA has now effectively prevented any substance containing pyridoxamine from being marketed as a dietary supplement. Never mind that the fish on your lunch salad and the chicken on your dinner table both contain pyridoxamine, as does brewer’s yeast!


American Association for Health Freedom - When is a Vitamin Not a Vitamin? When the FDA Says So!

[faithinacure]

Hi Carla:
I'm stunned. How can greed get so out of control and go this far?? I'm in shock. I'm a vegetarian and I require all the B vitamins. If any of us are to get well, we need that supplement and all. I signed the petition, but I fear it's too late. I dreaded a day like this would arrive, but I didn't really believe people would collectively allow it. Thanks for the heads up.
Faithxoxoxox

[Seasprite]

Search Rima Laibow on Youtube and her presentation on CODEX, you will see it is in the plan to control the food supply, this is the beginning.

[carla]

While we all worry about Codex they are going to sneak theses laws in and ban them all one by one,and there is little we can do about it.
Natural health care is a God given right.How dare they steal this from us?

[tcmgpt13]

Good news about this supplement. It is still on the US market, at least for the time being. This is just one source for Pyridoxamine:

iHerb.com - Product Details - Life Extension, Pyridoxamine Caps, 50 mg, 60 Veggie Caps

[faithinacure]

TCM:
How long until these are taken off the shelves? Will that supplement you suggested be immune to the ban? Also, one place I searched said there's a loophole for manufacturers that produced B's with B6 before "94. They want any and all proof they can supply. I lost it in my search and will continue to look. Thanks for any info you may have.
Faith

[faithinacure]

Hi All:
Just found this.

Vitamin Lawyer Health Freedom Blog: Health Freedom

Faithxoxoxo

[tcmgpt13]

Sorry FIC, not a mind reader. I did mention in my post that this supplement was "still on the US market, at least for the time being." For as long as it lasts I figure that is "good news for now" for many. After all it is now four years after pyridoxamine dihydrochloride was declared a drug. I do not know if this good news will last into the future, or if this supplement will have a special status at that time if others are banned. Hopefully, the 1994 shout for hands off of supplements by the FDA in the US can be replicated, or so I hope. I have hope for the future that other like minded folks will yet again halt any attempt to curtail supplement use.

best tcm (one who ever has hope for the future)

[2manyfibers]

Hopefully vitamin B6 is safe for now. I looked up some information on it and found that the chemical compound that the FDA allowed to be patented is pyridoxamine dihydrochloride which is one of at least 3 different forms of vitamin B6. From what I can tell most vitamin manufacturers use a very similar form of vitamin B6 called pyridoxine hydrochloride rather than pyridoxamine dihydrochloride (note the difference in spellings – a slight chemical difference between them). Thus, for the time being, vitamin B6 will hopefully remain readily available to the general public in the form of supplements. Here is some information from Wikipedia on pyridoxine that explains the differences in various forms of vitamin B6 to some extent:

Pyridoxine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pyridoxine is one of the compounds that can be called vitamin B6, along with Pyridoxal and Pyridoxamine. It differs from pyridoxamine by the substituent at the '4' position. It is often used as 'pyridoxine hydrochloride'.

I do agree that it is incredibly corrupt, stupid and irresponsible for the FDA to allow a drug company to patent a naturally occurring nutrient found in foods as a supposed prescription drug. I also think we need to be all the more vigilant in defending our abilities to have unfettered access to vitamin / mineral supplements so we do have to stay on top of stories like this. The FDA (and other corrupt government bureaucracies) has proven time and again that it is actively attempting to gain control over the supplement industry (which would effectively make natural nutrients from food in the form of supplements unavailable without a prescription). This is yet another blatant government grab for power that would greatly harm the citizens of America (and other countries) and concentrate more power in the hands of a corrupt government and pharmaceutical industry.

[tcmgpt13]

Thanks for the additional information 2mf. The supplement by Life Extension (the brand I posted) does seem to be the same as the one the FDA allowed a company to patent as it is being sold as pyridoxamine from pyridoxamine dihydrochloride which is the same form of B6 the company patented. So if this is the desired form people want to use I guess that at least one company is currently selling it as a supplement and not a drug. How Life Extension is getting around this patent I do not know. Perhaps the dosage level is lower than the drug.

BTW the last time supplements were threatened Life Extension was a big force for helping to encourage consumers to write letters to the FDA to protest this attempt. Buying their products may help them to fight the FDA in the future. As you say, hopefully we can help to fight off this next blatant attempt by government to control everything in our lives by making any and all supplements available in prescription strength only.

best, tcm (one who ever has hope for the future)